But he admitted the relationship should not have happened, and said he had not been thinking clearly at the time due to the process of going through a difficult divorce.

"The relationship with the girl certainly should not have happened, but I was down and out, weak from the break-up of my marriage and I needed someone I could talk to."

He said he had apologised for his actions, adding: "I can't ever see myself transgressing again.

Safety fears

"I appreciate the concern that parents have and I think they are right in having those concerns," Mr Gibson said.

"But I think they should look very closely at the facts relating to my own case."

Mr Gibson said he was questioned for two-and-a-half hours by DfES officials before being cleared to teach.

This has got to be sorted out because I understand, as a parent, the worries of parents

Chancellor Gordon Brown

But he told Today that he thought anyone who had done anything to physically or mentally harm a child should never be allowed to work in a school.

The father-of-three said his children had not taken a negative view of him after the details of his case were revealed.

"I'm just trying to let the children see that dad is not the sort of bad person that everyone in the press is suggesting he is."

But he added: "At the moment I don't have a job, I have no income, I've no capital, I have nowhere to live, I've had to leave my rented accommodation because I was fearful for my life because I was described by the press as a paedophile.

"I could have been stabbed or hit with a baseball bat and killed, and my three children who I love dearly... would not have a father."

Soham lessons

Chancellor Gordon Brown told GMTV that a "far better system" for vetting teachers would be introduced.

"This has got to be sorted out because I understand, as a parent, the worries of parents. I think we all do," he said.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said legislation being brought forward, based on recommendations from the inquiry into the Soham murders, would also cover health professionals.